Gas plant.



C. L. STRAUB.

GAS PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.16, 190e,

Patented Ju o I0, 1913.

Vt'ed from the hopper indieatedfhy UNITED STATES T OFFICE.

GAS PLANT.

To all 11i/0m it may conce/rn Be it; known that I, CoNs'rAn'riNn L. STRAUB, a citizen of the United States, residing at ltIilwaulzee7 in the county ot' Milwaukee and State ot lVisconsin, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements in Gas Plants, of which the following isa specification, reference heilig had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for producing gas from coal, such apparat-us including the producer t'urnaee, means for purifying the gas` means t'or causing its passage through part; of its course hy suetion, and through other parts thereof under pressure, and means for storing it; after it has heen generated and cleansed.

Figure l is a longitudinal section ot an apparatus emhodying my improvements: ,'ltig. 2 is a set-tion ot: part` ol. the apparatus when made in a modified torni.

The drawings illustrate a series o'l" meehanisms which a re slmwn renner-ted together to constitute the gas plant. Home ol' these, eon sitlered as oomptment elements` are or 1na he of an'v otI the well known torms. But I will here rei'er to them hrielly` in'order that the improvements to which tho present iuvention relates mayY he Vt'ullv luulerstood.

1 indicates as anentirety a producer t'urnace having the t'u'el ehamher 2, the grate at 3, and the ash pit at l^, the l'urnaee heilig ln some respects the present improvements are particularly well adapted t'or the treatment otI anthracite eoal in the manufacture o't gas. such as used t'or the operation ot` engines. lut it; is to he lhulerstood that other gas produeing materials can he employed and hence there can he variation in respecty to the parts. without departing from the invention. "l`he gas which is generated in the producer at l is taken ott' at the top through the exit passage tl. and is delivered to the vaporizer having the vertieal down tuhe T in the cylinder T. there heing at the hottom a hody ot water EJ held in the vessel 8. The, tuhe T has an extension 8 which e\tends down to or slightl)p under the surt'aee ol' the water at il these parts acting in the wellknown manner incident to vaporizers ot' this sort. t

From the aporizer the gas passes to the t duet'. at 10, theneithcr through the plu-gtl Specitwation of Letters Patent. Application ined August 1s. 190e.

the outlet 15, and through the Paten ted June 10, 1913. Serial No. 830,854.

pipe at Q1 or through the seruhher 11. The seruhher is, or may he, so tar as concerns its details, constructed in any well known or suitahle manner. As shown, it has trays or shelves at l2 and 13, some or all of which areadapted to hold the scrubbing materials ord'u1ar1l v used. At Ll it is provided with thev usual spraying apparatus. The gas passing through the seruhher is taken otlI at down pipe 1U, and is delivered to the suction and pressure mechanism at 1T. This, as illustrated, has a tan, to the eye oit which the'gas is delivered h v the pine lt. From its mouth it is forced through the duet 1S to the duet lt), and is h v the latter delivered to the interior ot the dr v seruhher 20. This part ot' the, apparatus can also he made in any preferred way.

From the drv seruhher tht gas passes through the ducts 2T and 28 to the gas holder, it first passing through the duct 28 to that at 3l, which enters the holder drum T12. the latter heing adapted to rise and tall 'through the liquid reeeptaele 33. The grs, to enter the vertieal pipe 3l, must pass the valve seatV 2t) ot the valve llt). To this vulve is eonneeted a tle.\'ihle support. such as a eahle 124, or chain 2li, or a support formed partly otE one and parti."I of the other. This tlexihlesupport Il l-5 is eonneeted to the top ot the holder 3:2, and is of such length that when the holder is in its uppermost` position it draws the valveI up tightly against the seat .tt and stops the passage ot gas. When the holder is emptyl` or partially filled, the llexihle holder settles down in the pipe ill. permitting the valve to move away from its seat 2f). and at such times the gas inlssage to the holder is uiuihstrlu'ted. 'lhe gas is talt'en't'rom the holder through the exit duet itt; and the gas outlet 2V( to the engine or other point ot' eonsumption.

ln some eases lV prefer to provide the holder with a valve-eoutrolling meehanism' situated eutirelv outside ot the holder. By ret'errinl;l to Fig. 2 it will he seen that the gas can he taken from the dry seruhher Q0 through the exit duct4 3S, and eun travel thence past the valve seat itt) to the above deserihed duet JS and to the interior of the holder 252. 'lhe valve 4t) is carried hy a rod -fll which passes through a tight cover l2 atthe top ot the valve hox. 'lhe valvel and its rod "tl are eonueeted to a tlexihle support, such as the section of cable 43,

which extends over the sheaves or pulleys at lA-.A5, and is provided with a weight 4G at its upper end. This weight 46 rests upon the top ot the holder. At 4.7 there is an adjustable weight applied directly to the valve 40, it being' preferably a series oit' disk weights adapted to be attached to or disconnected from the valve stem tl. This weight should be great enough to `insure that the valve shall tend to'move freely downward, and to rest itself irmly upon the valve seat 39 when the latter is reached; there being danger that.- the weight of the vvalve itseltl will noty be sutlicient to overcome the friction and resistance from` the cover 42 and the sheaves.- The weight 46 over-balances the weight. 4of the parts directly adjacentto the valve 40, sufticiently to insure that when the holder 3Q is in any position below its uppermost position7 this weight will draw up the valve. This form ot valve mechanism and controller is in some respects perferable to that tirst above described, inasmuch as all of the moving parts are outside of the holder, and any parts requiring' cleaning' or repairing are exposed and easily accessible.

The operation of a plant such a sabove described will be understood from the drawings and the description above. The. lire in the furnace beingl started. and the proper amount ot' fuel'bcing supplied, the operation is con'nnenced. By closing the main gas valve at Q5 and openingl the prn'ge valve at 2o, the first 2 ifas that passes over can be disposed ot in the usual way. LXt'ter the necessary tests are met tl e main uns valve leading; to the holder can be opened and the purge. valve closed. It' it is desired to utilize the suction andblast apparatus at 17 during the stage ot purging. the valve at Qt can be closed, and thaty at, i2-t opened. the main valve at 25 being,l closed. litter gras otl the desired quality has commenced to ttow, it is delivered to the holder. By placing` the combined suction and pressure apparatus. such as the 't'an at 17. at points between the scrubber 1l and the dry scrubber' "20, l `torce the passage ot' the gas from the producer, vaporizeror pre-heater through the scrubber under suction, and maintain the advantages well known to be incident to that. arrangement of parts. Then by tort-ing the gas from the fan under pressure through the dry scrubber, and the ducts, to the holder, secure important additional advantages. vlr provide a plant which is under automatic control throughout so Jfar as the generation of gas is concerned. As the holder fills and nears its extreme upper p0- sition, the valve at 30, or 40, closed upon its seat, and the inlet of gas is shut off. Then the tan at 17 works idly, takingr only the small amount of power required to circulate the gas between its imp-ellers about. in its casing7 but is ready to quickly start the How of gas through the producer and the wet scrubber the instant that itis needed for again supplying the holder. After a sufficient. amount of gas has been withd 'awntrom the holder t'o permit it to drop, the automatlc valve at 30, or 40, moves away from its seat, and the fan immediately resumes its action of drawing theI gas from the producer and forcing it under pressure to the holder. v

`\Vith a plant and system ot operation such as above described, I obviate the neces` sity ot' storing' a large amountI of gas to cover a long' period oi consumption; reduce the expense incident to its construction, and simplity the manipulations` that are necessary to operate it. The producing or generating' is stopped immediately upon the stoppage ot thecngine or other means of Conslnnption` but as there can be no `gas pressure back through the pipes and on the tire to deaden itr` the producer is maintained in normal generating' condition during comparativel v long stops.

lsYhat l claim is:

lu a ras plant` the combination of the generator or producer. mechanism. 'the supplementary scrubber mechanism. tbe ctuuluits connectingr in series the three n'icntioned mechanisme a propeller Vt'an located in the conduit between the initial and supplementary scrubber mechanisms. they variable. capacity holder having a movable element, a conduit connecting the supplementary scrubber mechanism and the the initial scrubber bolder. and the cut-otta valve in the. conuection between the .snppltanentary scrubber and the holder actuated bv the movable element ot' the holder. substantially as sett'nrth. the said 't'aadrawing` the gas by suction from the generator into the initial .scrubber mechanism and then forcing it under pressure through the supplementary scrubber and into the holder when the automatic valve is open, said fan being inoperative when the valve closed` In testimony whereof I atiix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

CONSTANTINE LEE STRAUB. lVitnesses:

E. E. AnAMs, ihwtmr Pn'r'rnoNE. 

